Lodestar Chapter 6
Chapter Six On I-20, some five miles north of Lodestar, Virgil Roberts and Alzada Castro were driving as fast as they could. They had just murdered the manager of the motel Virgil was staying at and had robbed it. Then drove off in the middle of the night. The next morning, the Sheriff's office had surrounded the hotel and searched all over for clues, but nothing. All roads leading in and out of Lodestar were blocked. However, the two villains had slipped out under the cover of night. Everyone was told to stay in their houses, and not worry. The schools had been on lockdown, the hospital was also on lockdown. The business district was shut up tightly. Chad Hutchinson protected Albert Dawson as they waited in their new home on the capture of the criminals. "I'm scared, Chad," Albert said softly, "I hate that Virgil, he's vicious." "I know, pal," Chad held Albert close, wrapping him in his blanket, "you don't have to worry. You've got me. He's not going to hurt you. I'll make sure of that one." "I just hope things will get better," Albert said, "it just has to." Despite his hard life and the continual abuse he had endured his whole life, which would have made anyone else completely cynical and brittle, Albert Dawson was always an inveterate optimist. He always tried to look for the bright side of things no matter what his life had been like, and his infectious optimism was just absolutely endearing. That was what made Chad love him more. Meanwhile, outside of Sweetwater, some 50 miles away from Lodestar, Virgil and Alzada had knocked off a couple of convenience stores between there and Abilene, actually robbed another convenience store in Abilene (and trashed the store leaving it an unsightly mess), and robbed a bank in Roby. Then they robbed a few convenience stores in Dallas/Ft. Worth. And then another few in Texarkana, even further east. That made things worse. They were intent on going to Louisiana, where Virgil had a house in Shreveport, that his family had owned. They were risking interstate flight, but they did not care. They were the Bonnie and Clyde of their generation and they LOVED it. Several hours of non-stop driving, and the addition of many mistakes they committed contributed to their downfall, however. They got way too arrogant and thought they could get away with a credit card purchase from a credit card Alzada had from her marriage to Jonathan. They traced it from a high-end restaurant in Texarkana. Which happened to be near the convenience store that they had held up! (Upon catching the charge, Jonathan had cancelled her credit cards, and changed them. He also got one for Albert Dawson) Upon realizing that, and armed with said information, the DPS and the Rangers went to Shreveport, aided by the FBI out of Dallas! They also had some able help from the bureau in New Orleans and Shreveport, since they ended up in Louisiana. Meanwhile, Virgil and Alzada pulled up to the house. It was a lovely house outside of Shreveport. They looked happy and sure of themselves, as they went to the door. They kissed. But then, reality hit with a thud! The unholy duo was just about to enter the house he owned, when a bevy of patrol cars, and the FBI came in. They emptied the cars and had guns drawn. Virgil and Alzada were stunned. "Hands up!" The Ranger ordered, "You are both under arrest for interstate flight, robbery and murder." Virgil sniffed, "Oh really?" he scoffed, "you dumb cops can't ever compare to the greatness that is me! I am Virgil Roberts! My girlfriend is carrying my child. Would you fools want to see a child born in Prison?!" "Don't tempt me, Roberts!" the cop yelled. "I'd as soon kill you as look at ya!" "You're too much of a chicken shit to do that to me!" he bragged, taunting the cops, which was becoming a huge mistake, "I will live forever, and you cannot stop ol' Virgil Roberts from havin' a good time, with my lady an' all this lovely money!" "Which you stole," the cop yelled. "Yeah," Virgil said arrogantly, "but I'm still standin', ain't I?" "Do we care?!" Alzada screamed. "No! You're impeding our lives, now, get out of here, or we'll have you removed from here!" She then, foolishly, advanced on the FBI agent. The FBI agent glared at her, "Step towards me," he threatened, "and you WILL be tased! I don't give a flip if you are pregnant or not, you will NOT touch that door!" Virgil shoved Alzada into the house. "Get away from the door," he urged, "that way they can't get to you." Virgil grabbed his gun, letting out a howl of glee, and began firing. He murdered three rangers, two DPS officers and the FBI agent. "That's what ya get when ya fight with Virgil Roberts!" he screamed in delight, his arrogance and ego in full-bloom, "you can't get me, because I am smarter than y'all are!" The enraged cops had had more than enough of Virgil's arrogance! As one, they advanced on Virgil, and mobbed him. He was swiftly tased and was immediately arrested, as he was being cuffed, he was swearing and screaming in rage. "Who the hell do you think you are?" he howled, "I am Virgil Roberts! You can't have me arrested!" Alzada looked outside, she was infuriated, "VIRG!" she screamed, "you can't leave me!" "You're under arrest as well, Alzada Castro," the female ranger said, opening the door, as her other female colleague slapped the handcuffs on her, "you're being immediately extradited to Sullivan County, and you two are finished! You won't ever see the light of day again, and your child will be born in the women's prison!" Alzada sneered, "Oh, go to hell," she said surly. "Oh, come on now, don't be such a poor loser," the Ranger said, in a rather cocky voice, "you know the law wins over villains like you any day!" And as such, the villainous Alzada and Virgil were snared in Shreveport and were hauled back to Lodestar to face their fates. Their reign as 2019's answer to Bonnie and Clyde was over! Quickly they were detained in the county jail, separated from one another. Virgil spent the whole night screaming about the unfairness of his reign coming to an end. Alzada was also screaming, vowing that she would sue the county and the state for this false imprisonment! The next morning, the two villains were marched into the Sullivan County Courthouse. Upon hearing that the villains had been snared in Shreveport, the lockdowns were lifted and the Business District came back to life. Chad wasn't going to take the case, as he had no desire to be in the same courtroom as Virgil Roberts. Besides, he had his Albert to take care of. Derek Swisher, another attorney in the Prosecutor's office, was taking the case. Eric, knowing his son needed to take care of Albert, gave him an extended leave of absence with pay. Chad sat in the spectators area, Albert close to him, holding a comfort doll. It was a baby doll that Jennifer once had when she was a little girl, not long after she had been adopted by the Hutchinsons, and she had procured the same doll for him on eBay (she was well-versed with it) and he was wrapped in his comfort blanket. Chad caressed his head, and made sure he was all right. Albert was still mortally afraid of Virgil, who had nearly beaten him to death. Judge Horace Motley glared down at the two defendants. "How do you plead?" he asked. "Not guilty," Alzada said. "Not Guilty!" Virgil bragged arrogantly. "People on bail, Mr. Swisher?" The judge asked Derek. Derek glared at the two defendants, "The people request remand," he said coldly, "as they have killed a motel manager, three Texas Rangers, two DPS officers and an FBI agent, not to mention robbing banks and convenience stores between here and Texarkana. These two need to be locked away!" Their defense attorney moaned, "What good would it do to lock them away?" he pleaded, "they are pillars of the community!" Chad rolled his eyes at the defense lawyer, how anyone could believe such an outlandish lie was beyond him. Albert shuddered as Virgil tried to smirk at the judge and tried to look at Albert. Alzada looked at him and sniggered about how he looked. Tears came to Albert's eyes. Chad noticed Alzada's snide behavior and Albert's reaction to it. He acted swiftly, he shot her a cold look. He then pulled him close, rubbing his head gently. "It's all right, Albs," Chad whispered gently, "I've got ya, buddy. He's not gonna get you. The bailiffs will see to that." The Judge glared, "You two have no respect for decorum!" he said coldly at the two arrogant defendants, "Ms. Castro, I saw you glaring at Albert Dawson and making fun of him. For that, you are guilty of contempt of court, which will be added to your other charges! As for this case, the Prosecution's request is granted, defendants are remanded and the trial will be set for two months from now! Happy holidays everyone!" Everyone left the courthouse, Virgil, still ranting and raving and yelling arrogantly, was led to the men's prison in Huntsville, some 150 miles from Lodestar, and Alzada, who too was screaming and shrieking, was taken to Mountain View in Gatesville over a hundred miles away in Coryell County. It was late evening and Chad walked with Albert close to his side, still holdling his doll and wrapped in his blanket, as his sister, Jennifer Cochran, came up. She hadn't attended the proceedings as she and her husband had been doing some DIY at their home. "Hey, guys," she said, "Claire Floyd just told me that Virgil is going to be sent to Huntsville, and Alzada is going to be sent to Gatesville. Good riddance to the lot of them!" Chad said, "Yep, Derek Swisher had them remanded, and they are to remain in maximum security until the trial. No way are they going to be here in Lodestar." Albert nodded, "Yeah," he said, "I am glad they're gone." Jennifer touched her brother's friend's hair, "That vermin won't hurt you anymore, sweetie," she said fondly, like the rest of her family, she considered Albert a Hutchinson. "Don't you ever worry about him again. Virgil won't be out of prison for a long time!" "I bet they will push for a change of venue," Chad said, "since their shyster lawyers will complain that they won't get a fair trial here in Lodestar." "Of course they wouldn't get a fair trial here, hon," Jennifer said, "and why should they? Nobody in this town likes either one of them anyway. Alzada Castro is a slut from way back and Virgil Roberts is nothing more than an arrogant thug, a scumbag and a murderer; and since they murdered law enforcement officers, they won't see the light of day again, in fact, I am pretty sure they will both get the death penalty!" "Yeah," Albert said, "I wouldn't mind THAT happening. According to Chad, Mr. Swisher is pushing for it, and Mr. Crosby agrees." "Well, that's good," Jennifer smiled. Chad hugged Albert gently, "He still has ya scared, eh, buddy?" he said softly, "well, you don't worry, babe. He ain't getting out of jail for a very long time." "Chad's right, honey," Jennifer said softly, "he'll never bother you ever again." Chad pulled Albert close and dropped a kiss on his head. Jennifer realized just how much Chad really loved and adored his best friend. Albert brought Chad's life a lot of meaning and gave him someone that he can love and care about. She was pleased, and so was most of everyone else in Lodestar. Category:Lodestar Episodes